Ideas, information and industry news for collegiate retailers

Articles tagged "Textbook-rental"

Textbook rentals are a key part of the modern campus store, but they can get confusing. From mismatched terms to titles not scanning, rental issues can slow down sales and throw a wrench in your productivity. As an MBS POS customer we want to make sure your workflow is quick and efficient. We designed a checklist to guide you through the most common rental issues, saving you time and headaches.

A growing number of students are choosing not to purchase their course materials because of the cost associated with them. The practice causes the problems one would expect: more student stress as their grades take a hit, teacher frustration at students not being prepared and a lot of finger-pointing from everyone. The students blame the bookstore and the school. The bookstore could have had better prices on inventory if the faculty had their adoptions in on time. The faculty, in turn, are unaware of how their role can impact the cost to the student. Few people outside of the college store understand the whole process beginning to end — but everyone has an opinion. People want more cost-savings options. After new, used and digital course materials, what’s left? Rental.

If there’s one thing UCM University Store Director Charlie Rutt knows it’s that families new to the course materials world need guidance. Many students start school without awareness of the cost of textbooks. Rutt said that, unless families are warned, they will feel deceived when they discover how much they have to spend at the college store. It’s like being invited to a free dinner only to find out you have to pay when the check comes.

Since "A New Hope" premiered in 1977, the Star Wars franchise has been one of the most successful and beloved media franchises in the world. In fact, the unofficial holiday "Star Wars Day" is celebrated by fans on May 4 — a pun off of the phrase "May the Force be with you."

It gave University Stores at Kennesaw State University something to celebrate as well. The store took the concept and ran with it for the week of May 2-6, offering a sale for 25% off Star Wars merchandise, and using a Star Wars theme to spruce up its display windows and advertise its rental returns.

More and more students want rental these days. So why is that, and where do they get their rental books from? We answer these questions and more in this infographic that covers the most noteworthy trends in the rental industry.

Rental has shaken up the textbook industry over the last five years, and the staying power of this trend indicates that it isn't going to lose traction any time soon. If your store doesn’t currently offer rentals, now is the time to seriously consider it.

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